Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. I own Rowanpaw, Thunderpaw, and all the rest of the characters created for the purpose of this story!
Chapter 8
Rowanpaw felt as if everything inside of him had fallen out and pooled around his feet. Blackcloud's blood? But that would mean that he was injured! Clawstar had to be right! The fox scent was a trap set by DarkClan! Rowanpaw trembled.
"If you can't go on with us, Rowanpaw, we'll understand if you head back," Twigleaf whispered. "I have a feeling we might be fighting today."
Rowanpaw shook his head. "No! Ashfang's my mentor. Quickpelt is my mother. Oakpelt is my half-brother. Icefur...I might not like him, but he's the father of my half-sister's kits! And Blackcloud is the mentor of Cottonpaw, my friend and my kin! I'm not turning back. I have to protect my Clan!"
"Said like a true warrior," Thornfur's voice rumbled. "But someone needs to go back and get Frostflower. We'll need her, especially if this pool of blood is an indication that...someone is hurt."
Rowanpaw knew that Thornfur was worried about Blackcloud, who was his older brother. But he was going refuse to head back just to get Frostflower if someone told him to!
"I'll go," Twigleaf said. "I'm not the strongest of fighters, anyway."
Meadowlark nodded. "Thank you for volunteering, Twigleaf."
"May StarClan watch over you all," Twigleaf whispered.
"And you," Thornfur replied.
Twigleaf turned and raced back the way they'd come.
"Let's continue. The faster we get to them, the quicker we can help them!" Thornfur said.
They trotted past the pool of blood. Rowanpaw forced himself not to look at the blood. Thornfur took the lead again. They trotted as quickly as they could. Rowanpaw knew that Thornfur wasn't allowing them to run, in order to keep their strength up. It wouldn't do any good for the five of them to be tired if it came to fighting to help Ashfang and her patrol.
"Blackcloud!" Thornfur screeched.
The five of them ran forward to the unmoving mass of black and white fur.
Thornfur put his ear beside Blackcloud's nose. "He's still breathing! What've they done to him?"
"StarClan knows, Thornfur," Meadowlark whispered. "We must keep going. Frostflower will find him here, just as we have. It looks like he isn't hurt too badly."
"Yes. It looks like he might have only been knocked unconscious," Wetpelt said.
They continued onward. With each pawstep, Rowanpaw felt as if they were diving deeper and deeper into danger. What was lying ahead for them? Would they find Ashfang, Oakpelt, Icefur, and Quickpelt? Would they be unconscious, like Blackcloud, or would they have worse injuries? And what would happen if they were continued to be attacked like this by DarkClan?
"Look!" Meadowlark hissed.
Rowanpaw looked up ahead. Lying in a circle on a grassy clearing were Ashfang, Oakpelt, Icefur, and Quickpelt. They were all unconscious and spread out on their sides so that they touched each other's heads and tails. There was no break in the circle.
"What...what is this?" Thornfur hissed. "Why are they lying like that?"
"Sly tried to tell you that it's better to come peacefully!"
The five of them looked up into the branches of the tree in front of them. A shadowy form had appeared. The shadow became the gray tom that Sly had first appeared with. His amber eyes were glinting maliciously.
"It's always better to come peacefully!" the gray tom purred. "Then you don't have to sit by and watch as we pick you off one...by one...by one...by one...by one..." His voice echoed as he became a shadow once more and disappeared.
Rowanpaw pushed past Thornfur and Meadowlark and ran to Quickpelt's side. Her side was moving, meaning she was still breathing. He glanced at Oakpelt, Icefur, and Ashfang. All of them were still breathing.
"I think they're okay!" he meowed. "They don't seem to be injured too badly! They're just unconscious, like Blackcloud."
"Thank StarClan," Meadowlark sighed. "But why didn't DarkClan hurt them?"
"They must be playing with us," Thornfur said. "They knew it'd give us a fright if a whole patrol suddenly disappeared."
At least it wasn't a real trap and we weren't ambushed, Rowanpaw thought.
"Let's see if we can wake them," Meadowlark suggested.
Rowanpaw nudged his mother and shook her with his paws, but she wouldn't wake. He shivered and sat down beside her sleeping form. The others weren't having any more luck at waking the others. Why wouldn't any of them wake up?
Frostflower and Twigleaf came running up. Their bristled pelts flattened when they saw that there was no fighting.
"They won't wake up, Frostflower," Thornfur said.
Frostflower frowned and examined the four unconscious cats. "It's just as I feared. They're in the same sleeping trance as Blackcloud."
"Sleeping trance?" Rowanpaw stared at the medicine cat.
"I had a dream just last night about this," Frostflower explained. "But I didn't know what it meant until I saw Blackcloud."
A gust of wind swept through the forested area. Rowanpaw fluffed up his fur against the sudden chill. The others looked just as worried about the cold wind. It was unusual for there to be such chilly winds during newleaf.
"What does a sleeping trance mean, Frostflower?" Wetpelt wondered after the winds had gone.
"I'm not sure, Wetpelt. It isn't good for ThunderClan, that much I know," Frostflower replied. "We should get them back to camp. I can examine them longer there."
Meadowlark dragged Ashfang easily. Thornfur pulled Blackcloud with some difficulty, considering Blackcloud was the larger of the two brothers. Wetpelt dragged Icefur, Frostflower pulled Oakpelt, and Twigleaf dragged Quickpelt with Rowanpaw's help. It was rather difficult for most of them as they wound around trees and bushes.
When the camp came into view, Rowanpaw heard Reedclaw and Rainfur shout. The two warriors, along with Darkpaw, Cottonpaw, and Silverpaw, helped get the five unconscious warriors into camp.
Rowanpaw saw Lightdew and her kits, Purekit and Palekit, scurrying out of Frostflower's den. They had probably been visiting Crookedfern, who was Lightdew's mate and the kits' father.
"I don't have any more room," Frostflower sighed. "We'll have to make a new den next to my den and put the five of them in there."
Clawstar came running over. "What's happened?"
"They are in a sleeping trance, Clawstar," Frostflower said. "We haven't been able to wake them. I'll look at them more closely, but I know of nothing that can wake them."
Rowanpaw glanced around the camp. Lightdew and her kits had joined Snowcloud and Stormkit near the nursery entrance. Tenderclaw and Barrenoak were seated beside half-rock over near the elders' den. Webpaw and Sootpaw were sitting forlornly near the fresh-kill pile. The camp had never looked so dead and empty before. His insides sank to his paws as he realized what DarkClan had done...they'd left ThunderClan practically defenseless.
A quarter moon passed. Frostflower still hadn't been able to figure out how to wake up Ashfang, Blackcloud, Oakpelt, Icefur, and Quickpelt, and it was taking a toll on the Clan. Clawstar had appointed Reedclaw as temporary deputy. Thunderpaw finally left Frostflower's den and returned to his apprentice duties, which had become twice as rigorous due to the fact that five warriors were no longer hunting or patroling. Meadowlark had taken on Rowanpaw's apprenticeship as well as Thunderpaw's. She had the two of them practicing battle moves almost every moment that they weren't hunting or patroling.
As for the other apprentices, Reedclaw had taken Webpaw; Thornfur, who had no apprentice right now since Gingerpaw had disappeared, took Cottonpaw; Twigleaf took Silverpaw; Rainfur took Sootpaw; and Clawstar took Cloverpaw because he was already mentoring her brother, Cedarpaw. Everything became twice as hard because there were so few of them.
One morning, Rowanpaw went on a hunting patrol with Meadowlark, Thunderpaw, Thornfur, and Cottonpaw. His limbs ached because he'd been having difficulty sleeping again. The sleeplessness had returned the night after they'd brought back Ashfang and the others who were in a sleeping trance. Whispers kept filling Rowanpaw's head each night, making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. The whispers weren't there during the day, but not being able to sleep was really dragging Rowanpaw down. He felt he couldn't go to Frostflower about it because there was no room left in her den, and there were already so few warriors and apprentices.
"Look what they're doing to our Clan," Thornfur grumbled as they gathered the prey they'd caught. "With so few of us left, it's hard to keep the injured, the elders, the queens, and all the unconscious cats fed...not to mention warriors and apprentices."
"Our defenses are weak, too. Not only because of how few of us there are to protect camp, but because we're all starving," Meadowlark whispered.
The five of them gathered up the three mice, one vole, and one thrush that they'd caught. Rowanpaw's stomach growled as he carried one of the mice. He most likely wouldn't get any of this catch because it had to be split between all the cats who needed it the most. They met up with Rainfur and Sootpaw, who had been hunting while they were patroling their border with WindClan. Rowanpaw saw that they only had two mice and a small vole.
The group brought their catches to the fresh-kill pile, which contained only a chaffinch and a large vole. Rowanpaw hoped that it was enough to feed those who needed it. If not, they would have to go out again, and he didn't know if he had enough strength for another trip out into the forest.
"Thunderpaw. Rowanpaw. You two should go and get some sleep. You both look dead on your feet," Meadowlark meowed.
Rowanpaw glanced at Thunderpaw. The scratches on his shoulders were still visible and there was a notch in his ear from where he'd been clawed. Rowanpaw thought that Thunderpaw looked more like the walking dead then he did.
"Come on, Thunderpaw," Rowanpaw whispered to his friend.
The two of them walked to the apprentices' den. They found Silverpaw curled up in his nest. Soft snores came from him, indicating that he was fast asleep. Rowanpaw and Thunderpaw curled up together.
The moment Rowanpaw lay down, the whispers erupted in his mind. But he was too tired this time to be annoyed by them. He felt asleep within seconds.
The next thing he knew, he was standing in the center of Ashfang, Oakpelt, Icefur, and Quickpelt. Their tails and noses were touching just like they had back in the place Rowanpaw and the others had found them. What was going on? The whispering voices started again, but they were no longer whispers. He could clearly hear them chanting something.
"Unlp tho ghust uf stehlaght cen hoot has ceiso, whon tooth moot tooth ent clews moot clews. Nano lavos ho'll hevo, bit nu loetoh's nemo!"
Rowanpaw's eyes widened. They were chanting part of the prophecy in that strange language he kept using! They were saying, "Only the ghost of starlight can heed his cause, when teeth meet teeth and claws meet claws. Nine lives he'll have, but no leader's name." How did the once-whispering voices know the prophecy?
"Rowanpaw."
He turned and spotted a black tom walking up to him. The cat's eyes were a brilliant yellow. Rowanpaw's neck fur bristled. Was this one of DarkClan's cats?
"I was once a cat of DarkClan," the tom said, as if he'd read Rowanpaw's mind. "I am one of their ancestors, just as Firestar is your ancestor."
"What do you want with me?" Rowanpaw hissed.
"I only want to help you. I've met many a cat since I passed on to the spiritual world. I've seen the errors of creating DarkClan," the tom whispered.
"You created DarkClan?" Rowanpaw gaped.
"Yes. I was a cat of SkyClan before they were chased off by the other four Clans. However, my father, who was bloodthirsty and greedy, had a big influence on me. I was named Deathkit by him. He was my mentor while I was Deathpaw. He was accidentally killed during a skirmish with ThunderClan. I was named Deathmask after that battle.
"When I received my warrior name, I knew it was time to abandon SkyClan and make my own Clan. So, I ran off and gathered cats with hearts as dark as their pelts. I made myself leader by winning a fight with every cat that wanted to join, whether they were Clan cats, loners, rogues, or kittypets. I hoped that my father looked down on me with pride as my cleverly named DarkClan grew and grew.
"We moved from place to place, conquering whatever cats we encountered, and increasing our numbers. Not all cats were accepted. Any cats with fur that was lighter than shadow, who we called light demons, were subjected to intense torture so that they became meek and easy to order around. We forced them to be our slaves.
"Then, one day, DarkClan came across two Clans of cats who lived peacefully together. There were no border battles between them, no forbidden love between Clans, no thought over who got what prey. The Clans called themselves LoveClan and PassionClan, but together they made PeaceClan. These two Clans, without knowing the power they possessed, had the ability to become creatures other than cats, or turn themselves into sunlight, moonlight, shadows, clouds, or whatever else in nature they felt like becoming. I was greedy to understand their ways, so I asked them to teach me. They never realized that it would lead to their downfall.
"Once I'd mastered the language, I taught it to my Clan and we killed off all of the naïve cats who called themselves PeaceClan. No PeaceClan cat was left, from kits to elders. With that done, we took over the area so that we could live there ourselves. It was the last place I remember ever living. I was old by then. My age caught up with me one night, and I passed on from the physical world.
"Generations have passed since I died. I have followed DarkClan's actions throughout the moons. They have done what I created them to do. They still have slaves. Their leaders are given nine lives by what they call SpiritClan. Their healers, however, do not speak with SpiritClan the way your medicine cats speak with StarClan.
"I've met your ancestors and the dark hearted cats who do not walk with them. StarClan has shown me the error of my ways. Now, I wish to help in any way that I can so that DarkClan can be stopped."
"You want to help destroy what you tried so hard to build?" a new voice hissed.
Rowanpaw's eyes widened as a group of dark-pelted cats stepped out of the shadows. There were so many of them, and their eyes were glowing like the sun.
Deathmask glared at the big tom at te head of the group. "Leave us be, Decayingflesh! Creating DarkClan was a mistake that I intend to fix!"
"We'll never let you get rid of DarkClan!" a black she-cat sneered. Her blue eyes sparkled with malicious thoughts.
"Not you too, Odorpelt!" Deathmask looked pleadingly at the black she-cat. He turned to the small, black tom next to the she-cat. "Tell me you are not siding with them, Filthydebris..."
"What's it to you, father?" Filthydebris spat. "When we were all alive, you treated us like scum. We were never able to please you, no matter what we did!"
"I was mistaken!" Deathmask meowed pitifully.
Rowanpaw swallowed. Decayingflesh, Odorpelt, and Filthydebris were Deathmask's kits! How could they treat their father so cruelly? Didn't they see that he was sorry?
"I wish I could take it all back," Deathmask meowed. "But I cannot erase history. I loved all three of you dearly, but I didn't know how to show it. My father treated me the same way. I knew nothing else!"
"Excuses, excuses!" Decayingflesh snarled. "We've banished you from speaking with any DarkClan cats and walking the same world we do, but that wasn't enough! We need to send you somewhere that you can't escape!"
"No!" Deathmask and Rowanpaw shouted.
Decayingflesh, Odorpelt, and Filthydebris turned to look at Rowanpaw. Their eyes glinted with malice.
"You think you can stop us?" Decayingflesh laughed. "You are nothing but a little apprentice! What powers do you hold? We can do things that you could never dream of!"
Rowanpaw gritted his teeth. He hated being called a little apprentice! This tom didn't know anything if he didn't realize that Rowanpaw was the cat in the prophecy that might bright about the downfall of DarkClan.
"My name is Rowanpaw, and I'm more important than you think!" Rowanpaw hissed, standing tall. "I'm the cat in the prophecy that tells of the downfall of DarkClan! I'll not stop until I've rid the world of your precious Clan of bullies! And I can do the same things that you can because I'm learning the language you use to do all those things you say I can't even dream of doing!"
The look of shock on the faces of Deathmask's kits made Rowanpaw's heart soar with triumph. They hadn't been expecting that!
Decayingflesh suddenly glared at him. "You can try all you want, Rowanpaw, but you'll not succeed! We'll do everything in our power to stop you."
With that, the crowd of dark-pelted cats turned and disappeared.
Deathmask looked wearily at Rowanpaw. His face was becoming blurred.
"You shouldn't have made him mad, Rowanpaw. Now he'll stop at nothing to make sure you don't fulfill the prophecy. The only way you'll have a chance to rid your world of DarkClan is if you find the ghost of starlight. Find him, and Decayingflesh won't be able to stop you unless he ends your life..."
Deathmask's voice echoed into nothing.
Everything around Rowanpaw was growing dark. He thrashed where he stood as his paws tingled like they'd never tingled before. What was going on?
"Rowanpaw! Wake up!"
End of Chapter Eight
Pronunciations
Okay, the magick-tongue used in this chapter came as part of the prophecy, so it was pretty long. I've broken it up into sections to be easier to decipher.
Unlp tho ghust uf stehlaght cen hoot has ceiso
Meaning:
Only the ghost of starlight can heed his cause
Pronunciations:
un - l - p ( l as in lion )
th - o ( o as in order )
gaa - us - ss - t ( t as in teacher)
u - f ( u as in ugly)
ss - t ( t as in teacher) - eh - lag - t ( t as in teacher)
can
hoot
has
say - so
whon tooth moot tooth ent clews moot clews
Meaning:
when teeth meet teeth and claws meet claws
Pronunciations:
won
tooth
moo - t ( t as in teacher)
en - t ( t as in teacher)
clues
Nano lavos ho'll hevo
Meaning:
nine lives he'll have
Pronunciation:
nan - o ( o as in auto)
la - vo - ss ( vo as in volume)
ho - el
he - vo ( vo as in volume)
bit nu loetoh's nemo
Meaning:
but no leader's name
Pronunciations:
bit
new
low - toes
knee - moe
Whew! Finally done with this chapter's pronunciations!